Ariel Castro Accepts Plea Deal in Cleveland Kidnappings

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CLEVELAND — Ariel Castro agreed Friday in an Ohio courtroom to a plea deal in one of the most sensational kidnapping cases in recent memory. The deal, reached with prosecutors, would let him avoid the possibility of a death sentence and spare his alleged victims from having to testify at a trial.

The plea deal recommends that he be sentenced to life in prison without parole — that he never get a parole hearing. It would also mean that a trial Castro was facing on August 5 would not happen and he would not face the possibility of being sentenced to death. Judge Michael J. Russo went over the deal with Castro, and told him that he would be labeled as a sexual predator.

Ariel Castro is seen in court on July 17. (Credit: WJW)

Castro replied that he understood. At one point, he interjected that he was “also a victim as a child” to which Russo responded that he could make whatever statement he wanted during the sentencing hearing. Russo also said that victims would be notified of the hearing and also would then have a chance to say what they liked.

Russo went through charges Castro faces relating to the allegations he held three women captive for a decade and asked him how he pleaded.